The Federal Police and the Federal Revenue Service launched the “Golden Pyramid” operation this Wednesday morning (28) in Pará, Amazonas, Rondônia and Paraná against a scheme of illegal sale of gold from the North to the Southeast of the country that could overcome R$1 billion.
One person was arrested in Curitiba (PR) and two others are considered fugitives. The PF also carries out 13 search and seizure warrants.
One of the search and seizure warrants was in Itaituba, Pará; the other 12, divided between Porto Velho/RO, Manaus/AM and Curitiba/PR. Documents and money were seized, but the amount has not yet been recorded.
The PF targets suspects for criminal organization, money laundering, usurpation of union assets, ideological falsehood and use of false documents. Asset seizure of 24 targets in the investigation was also ordered.
The investigation began with the seizure of 7.5 kilos of gold, made on September 1, 2022, at Belém International Airport, in a joint action between the PF and the Federal Revenue Service. At the time, the passenger was not arrested in the act. Today, however, he is one of the targets of arrest warrants, as are two of his sons, suspected of the same criminal scheme.
According to the PF, even after being detained at the airport – and subsequently released – the suspect continued to take gold extracted in illegal river mines in Amazonas and Rondônia on commercial flights, destined for São Paulo.
The investigation points out that the main suspect, in 11 months, boarded 27 similar flights between Curitiba, Porto Velho, Manaus and Campinas, with increasingly smaller quantities of the precious ore, to avoid suspicion.
The scheme received an air of legality from “notary” companies, which forged invoices. Gold was also “dirty,” a process of lowering its purity to hide its origin and also make it appear legal.
One of the targets of arrest is a partner in a company without an employee that turned over R$1.5 billion in three and a half years, between June 2020 and September 2022.
The court ordered the seizure of bank accounts, suspension of the company's activities and mining permission. The Federal Revenue Service participates in investigations, sharing information.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
